1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to handguns and, more particularly, to a revolver-type handgun in which the hammer is cocked and the cylinder is indexed automatically upon the firing of a cartridge.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Handguns are of two general types, revolvers and semiautomatics. A semi-automatic handgun does not fire repeatedly upon a sustained depression of the trigger, but rather only cocks itself and inserts a new cartridge into the firing chamber automatically upon the firing of a cartridge. Nevertheless, this enables the handgun to be fired quite rapidly, usually as fast as the trigger can be pulled, a decided advantage in many applications.
A revolver-type handgun, on the other hand, posesses many advantages over semi-automatic-type handguns, including strength, simplicity, and safety (in part because the cartridges readily may be examined). One of the chief drawbacks of a revolver is its inability to fire rapidly with accuracy. A revolver either is a so-called single-action handgun in which the hammer is cocked manually after each shot or it is a so-called double-action handgun in which the hammer may be cocked manually or by pulling the trigger.
Single-action revolvers and double-action revolvers when cocked manually simply cannot be fired rapidly. Although a double-action revolver when fired by trigger pull alone theoretically can be fired rapidly, in practice it posesses significant disadvantages because of the force required to cock the hammer and index the cylinder. That is, the force required to achieve these ends by trigger pull along is so great that accuracy is impaired greatly. The result is that double-action revolvers typically are fired in the double-action mode only in emergency circumstances or at close quarters where speed is gained at the expense of accuracy.
In an attempt to overcome this obvious defect of revolvers, others have attempted to utilize forces developed in the firing of a given cartridge to cock the hammer and index the cylinder preparatory to firing of the succeeding cartridge. In effect, the prior art has attempted to develop a successful semi-automatic revolver. An example is a prior art revolver in which a cylinder frame is displaced with respect to a handle portion of the firearm upon recoil, and in the process the hammer is cocked and the cylinder is indexed. This revolver is excessively bulky and unattractive, and has many exposed parts. The recoiling cylinder frame is dangerous and potentially ineffective if items such as fingers, portions of clothing, etc. are trapped between relatively moving parts. It is believed that the handgun is sufficiently unattractive that consumer acceptance has not occurred, even without regard to the other disadvantages.
The patents to Dickinson and Ivy disclose semi-automatic revolvers employing a somewhat different approach. Dickinson, for example, employs a longitudinally extending gas cylinder disposed beside the barrel; a piston reciprocates in the gas cylinder. A rod extends outwardly of the gas cylinder and is connected at one end to the piston and at the other end to the hammer by a pivoted link. The barrel includes an opening providing fluid communication between the barrel and the gas cylinder whereby the piston is forced rearwardly, and the hammer is cocked, upon the firing of a cartridge due to increased gas pressure in the barrel (and in the gas cylinder). Ivy in FIG. 10 discloses a similar concept, except that a two-part piston rod extends centrally through the cylinder and exits the frame immediately in front of the hammer. Upon the firing of a cartridge, the piston rods are displaced rearwardly and the piston rod closest to the hammer engages the hammer and cocks it, thus readying the handgun for the next shot.
Although this basic approach offers certain advantages, it is apparent that further advances are desirable. More specifically, it is desirable that the handgun effectively utilize space and that a minimum number of moving parts be exposed. It is necessary that moving parts be kept to a minimum and that the handgun be neither bulky nor unattractive. In short, a semi-automatic revolver must be simple, relatively inexpensive, compact, and most importantly, effective.